Brake resetting and time delay mechanism



Feb. 28, 1950 Filed Sept. 15, 1945 C. R. G OTTSCHALL BRAKE RESETTING ANDTIME DELAY MECHANISM 7 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. CLARENCE R. GOTTSCHALLHIS ATTORNEY Feb. 28, 1950 c. R. GOTTSCHALL BRAKE RESETTING AND TIMEDELAY MECHANISM 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 13, 1945 L N m S 07 TT. m LW E C N E R A L C v. w\ mm B mm, mm Q IN maiii ai w j I l "f3;252131, I.1 X1 iiill gzzzz Q 1 1 l, q IN S a T k a 1. \w \m X QN N 9 ;G R 5 x a wR u a /Q v m ww Q m\ I LN MN HIS ATTORNEY Feb. 28,- 1950 c. R GOTTSCHALLRESETTING AND TIME DELAY MECHANISM v 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 BRAKE Filed Sept.13, 1945 b 0 k O 1 N o INVENTOR. CLARENCE R. GOTTSCHALL' HIS ATTORNEYFIG. 4

Feb. 28, 1950 c. R. GOTTSCHALL 2,493,992

BRAKE RESETTING AND TIME DELAY MECHANISM INVENTOR. CLARENCE R.GOTTSCHALL.

HIS ATTORNEY Feb. 28, 1950 c. R. GOTTSCHALL BRAKE RESETTING AND TIMEDELAY MECHANISM 7 Shee'ts-Sheet 5 7 Filed Sept. 15, 1945 Feb. 28, 1950c. R. GOTTSCHALL BRAKE RESETTING AND TIME DELAY MECHANISM Filed Sept'.15, 1945 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 1N VEN TOR. CLARENCE R. GOTTSCHALL Wm,

HIS ATTORNEY Feb. 28, 1950 C. R, GOTTSCHALL BRAKE RESETTING AND TIMEDELAY MECHANISM 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Sept. 13, 1945 FIG. II

I INVEN CLARENCE R. GOT

TOR. TSCHALL FIG. IO

HIS ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 28, 1950 UNI STATES HAT-EN "'I" O. F F] C EClarence R. Gottschall,

Wilmington, Del., assignor ..-to.All American Airways, Inc.,,-a.corporation.

' Delaware fiAppiication. September 13, 1945, SerialNo. 615;932

sential .elements oflsuchia unit-area cable and a drum .on which theicable is wound itogether withhraking instrumentalities and .me.chanismfor -controllinggthe. application cofwthe brakes. Such a unit .mayi-beemployed-not only for. air pick-up purposes but also: in.certainarresting operations landeperhapsr other- .places .where. theunwinding .of .a cable. from a .drum .is accurately controlled by... theapplication .of brakes,v particularly as .to ..the time .ofiapplication.Thus, while the invention. will :hereinatterbe.described in.r.elationto. air .pick-up it is .tofbe clearly understood that the invention .not.'.to'-- be. 'limited. tothis particular .usage as .it is susceptible ofadoption wherever .units. of this type are employed to control thepaying out of .a cable.

An air .pick-up is ,ordinarily'made withthe aircrafttravteling at. ahigh .rate ofspeed. The objectto he picke'dxupywhatever it. may; be, isordinarily immovable on the ground and connected to the loop of'theground station. Thus,

when contacti-is 'fir'st effected the drum "of'the pick-upunitdsimmo-vable and itsmomentof inertia must'be quicklyovercome and thedrum accelerated to high speed rotation. This means that for theperiodimmedialtfly"subsequent to contact with the 1 ground statio'n there'sho'uld' be no application of*-the-br a kes tothe drum. That is,'thedrum should be left to'rotate freely so that it may-bequicklyacceleratedp"After'its moment picked undo: the speed cfthe"aircraft. The present invention is concerned primarily with :the 1r.

nisms -of this type have been providediifor this-i,

purpose they have not been satisfactoryrirom "eer tain aspects and assageneralziruleihaveaconsisted of complicated and: cumbersome \deviceswhich more or'lessrclutter up" the'zuniti' Accordinglyjithe inventionhasuinr-view Passits foremost i'Obj ective the provision of a -new andimproved brake resettingxand; time delay. mechanism which issubstantially; completelyenclosed: and carried bythe shaft on'which-thedrum is mounted. Withsuch an arrangement the unit is kept free-fromoutward and cumbersome.rattachments and affords 'a generallysimplifiediappearance. Moreover, the brake resetting and time delaymechanism .is adequately protected and the likelihood of damagethereto-kept at aminimum.

vAn air pick-up unit of- .theltype'to which this .inventionis intendedto .be applied ordinarily includes a shaft on which the cable carrying.drum is rotatably mounted. Braking instrumentalities nsuallyin theformof a disc stack are associated with .the drum and supportingstructure: andare rendered effective bya spring thatis enclosed withinthe tubularshaft. This spring .is'tensioned by what is known as theresettingoperation and when the spring is lreleased the brakes areapplied. .--Av further object ofthe .invention is the provision-of brakeresetting and timedelay mechanism whichis particularlyadapted to con.trol-therelease of the brake applying .spring aforesaid.

Still vmore in. detailtheinvention has in view as an object theprovision of mechanism'of the type .abovesnoted which is susceptible ofquick and easycmanipulation to carry out the resetting operation.

-.-.Sti1l..another object is the provision of mechanismof this typewhich may be readily adjusted to, vary the time interval allowed for thefree rotation of the drum. That is, the mechanismmay be adjusted to varythe-relative moment when .the brakes are applied as compared toinitiation of rotation of the drum.

Various other .more detailed objects. and advantages of .the inventionwill in part become apparentand in parttbe he'reinafterstated as" adescription of theinvention proceeds.

The invention, therefore, comprises novelbra'ke resetting ancLtime delaymechanism adapted to bemounted en. and. substantially completely en'-closed :bythe shaft on which la .cable. carrying drum is rotatablymounted. v

. For ,a fulland more. complete understanding of the invention reference.maysbe'jhad to the following description and accompanying .drawingswherein:

Fig. 1 "is. a a perspective vdepicting an aircraft 1 about to effectapick-up.

Fig. 2 i5 3. top plan .yiewssomewhatdiagrammatic showing: therelationaof -f the pickg-uplaircraft; ground station; and glider tobe;picked up.

the drum from a central hub portion 20.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on an enlarged scale through a portionof the cable carrying drum and particularly through the shaft thereof.

Fig. 4 is a view in end elevation of the unit to which the brakeresetting and time delay mechanism of this invention has been applied.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail showing mostly in section developingdetails of the disc stack. This view is taken about on the planerepresented by the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is another detail showing taken normal to the showing of Fig. 5.This view is taken about on the plane represented by the line 6-6 of Fi5.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale taken through the end ofthe shaft housing the brake resetting and time delay mechanism anddeveloping one position of such mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view similar to the Fig. '7 bringing out anotherposition of the mechanism.

Fig. 9 is another view similar to Fig. '7 bringing out still anotherposition of the mechanism.

Fig. 10 is a detailed sectional view taken about on the planerepresented by the line Ill-40 of Fig. 7, and

Fig. 11 is another sectional view taken about on the plane representedby the line ll-ll of Fig. I.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts and first more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, anaircraft is therein illustrated and referred to generally by thereference character A. The aircraft A carries a contact arm H] which inturn detachably carries a hook II that is adapted to engage a loop 12 ofa ground station which is referred to in its entirety by the referencecharacter G. The object which is to be picked up, which in the instanceof the illustrated embodiment is a glider, is designated 0. It isconnected with the loop l2 by a leader line 13. A cable l4 has one endconnected to the hook I l and its other end is taken up on the drum of-a pick-up unit which is mounted within the aircraft A. This pick-upunit is referred to in its entirety by the reference character U, suchunit being more completely illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the invention is presently beingdescribed as applied to the pick-up unit of an aircraft. However, it isto be distinctly understood that the invention is susceptible of usewherever it is necessary to accurately control the application of brakesto a cable carrying drum for the purpose of decelerating the rate atwhich the cable is paid out.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, the unit U is shown ascomp-rising supporting framework, including a standard l5 such as shownin Fig. 4. Carried by the supporting framework is a tubular shaft itwhich is journaled for rotation in the supporting framework byappropriate bearing assemblies, one of such bearing assemblies beingshown at I! in Fig. 3.

A drum i8 which carries the cable l4 includes a central supporting webstructure l9 which connects and supports the outer cylindrical part ofThe hub is mounted for rotation about the shaft l6, bearing assemblies2| being provided for this purpose.

Braking instrumentalities for controlling rotation of the drum l8 areshown in the form of a disc stack 22. As is more clearly shown in Figs.5 and 6 alternate elements of the stack 22 are provided with outer keys23 which are received in keyways in the drum, thus these elements maymove in the direction of the axis of the drum but are non-rotatable withrespect thereto. The other alternate elements of the stack 22 areprovided with inner keys 24 which are received in keyw-ays in thestationary supporting structure. It is evident that when no pressure isapplied on the stack 22 the drum I 8 is permitted to rotate freely.However, when pressure is applied to the stack braking effects areaccomplished to decelerate rotation of the drum [8. The stack 22 isenclosed between a backing plate 25 at the outer end and a movablepressure plate 26 on the inner side.

A plurality of actuating links 27 (in the form of the inventionillustrated three of these links are employed although only one is shownin Fig. 3) have their inner ends anchored to the pressure plate 26 asindicated at 28 and the outer end of each link is secured to a lever 29.There is a lever 29 corresponding to each link 21. The outer end of eachlever 29 carries an adjustable pivot pin 30 and the free end of this pinbears against the supporting framework to act as the fulcrum of thelever. The inner end of each lever 29 extends through a slot 3| in shaft16. A brake applying rod 32 is operatively mounted within the tubularshaft i6. Surrounding the rod 32 and slidably mounted within the shaftI6 is a ring-like abutment member 33 which engages the inner ends of thelevers 29 and is held in such engagement by an expansion spring 34 whichengages the abutmentv member 33 at one end and a spring retainer 35 atthe other end, the latter being formed on the shaft 32.

The tubular shaft [6 is continued through the bearing assembly [1 andthe outer end which normally would be open is covered by a closure inthe form of a tubular cap 36. The rod 32 is continued out into the cap36 and on its free end carries a spring retainer 31. A second springretainer 38 slidably encompasses the rod 32 and is anchored within theshaft 16. An expansive brake applying spring 39 surrounds the rod 32 andhas its ends engaging the retainers 31 and 38. It is evident that if therod 32 is released the spring 33 will tend to move the rod to the left,speaking with reference to the showing of Fig. 3, and when so moved thespring retainer 35 compresses the spring 34 and the latter through theabutment 33 moves the inner ends of the levers 29 to the left, thus,exerting a pull on the links '21 to urge the pressure plate 26 againstthe disc stack 22 and thusapply the brakes.

The mechanism for controlling release of the rod 32 will now bedescribed. Speaking with reference to the showing of Figs. 3, 7, 8 and9, the shaft It is continued past the outermost hearing assembly 2| inthe form of a shaft extension 4!! which is formed with slots 4|immediately adjacent to the outermost bearing assembly 21 and a secondset of slots 42 that are spaced from and aligned with the slots 4|. Itis notable that the rod 32 is continued out through this shaft extension40. The outer free end of the rod is threaded as indicated at 43 and aportion of the rod 32 within the'hub 20 is also threaded as indicated at44.

'A latchbox 45 includes a sleeve 46 which is screwed onto the threads 44and positively held in an adjusted position by a lock nut 41. Thelatchbox 45 is of a cylindrical formation and is slidable within theboreof the shaft IS. The outer end of thelatchbox 45 carries an inwardlystructure.-.cca11ried: by ithe; shatteextension extending- 11ing l ike"flange 48: whiehp-is adapted forengagem'ent with the hoo'ked ends 49oislatch fingers'ill. -The latter:are-:pivntlwmounted as indicatedat -51"on" a "latch supper-1x152 zstlratmis carried by tl'ieuishait extensionlfl iandssmayi be secured to the said extension by ea b'oltaorririvet40a. This -1atchsupport-52 includessia central opening 53 1 throughwhichlthe trod-1232' sli'dably passes. -Ea'ch 'of the..1'atch fingers 50adapted for engagement by a -;coll-a-psib1e =nuts elementzto be laterdescribed --and thus swing the latches'ion the pivots -51 to release thehooked ends? 49.from the flange 48. The collapsible nut willmverri'dethe latches in the manner Jdepi'cted-rin ithe drawings. -A leaf spring'elernent 55 inormallyfma-in- .l

tains the hooked ends-49 f the latches 50 :in their outermostposition'engaging:ltheeflange zu.

An internally threaded nut 56 is 'di-sposed about the shaft extension-40 :opposite to the isl'ots '4l and is connected by an end fiangeStand-screws 58 to the hub 2li. Because of this connectioni theinternally threaded nult 156 rota'tes with; the drum '18.

A carrier member 59 comprises a circularisleeve through which the-rod'32s'lidabl-y passesand-cut- 1 wardly extending webs 6B whichpassithrough' the slots 42. The outeredges -of the web 60 :are threadedas indicated at '6l. With lthewuter edges of the web -60 consideredasonecylindrical surface a reset'nut 62 is screwedonto these threads BI andhas an'outerabutmentssurface 63 and inner abutment faces-64 :and '65.--A

' collapsible nut Ifollower comprising complemental parts is carried bythe carrier 59. Eachof the elements of this: collapsible nut -tolloweris :a.

duplicate of the otherelernent and'therefo're only one of 'themis-heredescribed f0rthe pu-rp0ses of this specification. -The collapsiblenutyfollower is made up of complemental elements fi Each 'of theelements 'fiii is pivotlymonntedas shown at,

61 on one of the webs' 60. At this .end theielement 65 carries a pairoroutwardly extending ring-like flanges 68 -and T1 69, the fiangesbei-ngarranged on opposite sides of the'pivot 61.- These flangesextend'through the slots 42. a

The elements "66 extend through the bore of this extension shaft 40 tothe=slots 4| where each is provided with a gooseneck construction Iwhich extends 'through the respe'ctives-lotsl l. Each element fifiterminatesin-a segment or a cylindrical surface which is externallythreaded as shown at 1 l. Th'ethrea'ds' H arecomplemental to andadaptedfor engagement --wi-th the inner threads on the nut'56. Itisevident-tl'iatewhien the reset nut- 62 'is screwed to the-right;speaking threads. of :nut 56 :within certain :tlimitsaszide- 'finedbyone endiofithe slots-.42 .and-s-an-adju'stable stop shown -at- "l2.'.The' latteracomprises: a 'nut element which "isthreaded-onrsaxsscrewarod 13 which :iis anchored at nits-sinner .en'dIto -.certain ,lnut sections 166 I strike against the end abutment 54 onthe 1atches50; Thiseng-agement depresses (the hooked -ends;-.4 9- of thel latches against the indicated at .14. The; nut :121 iszzpositivelylzhe'ld :in- 'an adjusted position by a lock'nut '1 5.

Fitted in the outer end of the shaft extension is a cap member 16 havinga central opening {11' which is spaced from the threads 43 ion the shaft3215a suificient distance to provide iforthe .insertionmfQthe threadedsleeve 18 of a :reset crank J9. =.If desired, a bearingassembly Bllzmaybe interposed between .the hub of the reset crank and theend of the cap16.

Operation While the :modesof operation of the, above describedamechanismis believed to be self -evident, it'zmaycbe describedby noting that thenut 12 is first adjusted to :the proper position for deter- :miningaparticular:time'interval desired. This interval is the lapse of timebetweentheinitiation er rotationxof 'thezdrum' l8 and the momentiofapplication .offithe brakes. That is, the time interval-zistheperiod-during which the drum will rotate treely without. being underthe influence of any; braking effects.

The reset nut 62 willfirst be screwe'dsoas to .fmove' it inwardly :andcause the 'face 64 thereof to engage theflanges 68. This depresses .IOI

collapses the-elements 66 andimoves the threads :1! out "of engagement.withtth'e inner threads of the nut'56; Theentire'assembly'comprising"carrier 59, reset nut 62, andelements 66 .isthen .movedxoutwardly untilthe abutment surface -.63 on; the reset nut '62 engages the stop .12.

The reset nut- 62 .is thenturned in a reverse direction to cause theabutment face'65 tomengage the lifianges 69, as shown in Fig. 7,andmovefthe threads outwardly into meshing engagement with theinnerthreads-nf the nut 56. Theresetc-crank "1921's now rotated to movethe:brakez applying-irod 3'2' outwardly.

"box 4 5': passes the hooked ends .of the latchfingers -49zso thatthezlatter catch thereon. Thexlatch fingers :willnow 'h'old'ithe shaft32 against inward movement. The'reset crank=is then partiallyrunscrewedsfrom the threads :43 so :as :to-"moveit to the right asufiicient-di'stance'to allow .forrinr-ward movement of the' rod' 32:which willoccur This movement-is continued until :the inwardlyextending xfiange 48 on the :latchwhen the brakes are applied,aszsh'ow-n-incthe dotted line position. of Fig. '7.

When contact with the. ground station is. .effected, the cable 14 startsthe drum 18 into rotation. .During this initial period, of rotation-therod 32 is heldinxposition in-Which no pressure is applied on the stack22- and the rotation of ,the drumvis free. vvth'ednternally threaded,nut '56 is (also rotated .anddue. to the; engagement, of the threads"ll therewith the elements 66 30f the; collapsible nut follower aremoved -.inwa rd lyuntilsuch time as However, asthe drum rotates the,inner 1ends3.of thethreaded-portions ll of influence of the spring 55and causes thehooked ,endsto clear therfiange 48 whereuponthe 1atch-:boxis released and the rod-32 -.correspondingly released to applythebrakes in the1manner-a1- creadysdescribed. This completes .thezcyclezofoperation. v The idevicelmayi be. reset =.by "repeatin theoperation asabove described;

"While a- :preferred gspecifimembodiment 1 of :the

invention is :her einbefore set :forth, :itisyto be :elearlyunderstoodthat-the inventionis note-to be limited to theexactv,construction.Lillustrated.-=.and.:..describedehecausei.variousmmdifications of .these details maybe provided in putting-themvention into practice within the purview ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cable control unit a drum, a cable on the drum, a tubular shafton which said drum is journalled, including a spring actuated brakeapplying rod enclosed Within said tubular shaft, time delay mechanismcomprising a latch operative mounted within said tubular shaft, a detenton said rod adapted for engagement by said latch, an assembly consistingof a collapsible nut, a carrier therefor, and a reset nut followerslidably mounted in said shaft, an internally threaded sleeve carried bysaid drum with the threads thereof engaging said collapsible nut, saidreset nut follower being operable to engage or disengage the threads onsaid collapsible nut with respect to the internal threads on saidsleeve, the inner ends of said nut being adapted to engage said latch torelease the same, and means for moving said rod outwardly to engage saidlatch with said detent and set the mecha nism with respect to said resetnut.

2. In a cable control unit a drum, a cable on the drum, a tubular shafton which said drum is journalled, including a spring actuated brakeapplying rod enclosed Within said tubular shaft, time delay mechanismcomprising an internally threaded sleeve operatively connected with saiddrum, a collapsible nut meshing with said threads, abutment means onsaid nut, and cooperating latch and detent means on said tubular shaftand rod respectively adapted to be engaged by said abutment means tobreak the latching relation.

3. In a cable control unit a drum, a cable on the drum, a tubular shafton which said drum is journalled, including a spring actuated brakeapplying rod enclosed within said tubular shaft, time delay mechanismcomprising an internally threaded sleeve carried, by the said drum, acollapsible nut having threads meshing with said internal threads and anabutment, a latch pivotally mounted on said tubular shaft a detent onsaid rod cooperating with said latch, spring means for maintaining saidlatch in engagement with said detent, said abutment being adapted toengage said latch to disengage it from the detent against the influenceof said spring means, means for engaging and disengaging saidcollapsible nut from said threads, and a reset crank operativelyassociated with said rod.

4. In time delay and brake resetting mechanism of the characterdescribed a collapsible nut assembly comprising a carrier having aplurality of radially extending webs that are externally threaded, anelement of a collapsible nut pivotally mounted on each web, each of saidelements having a flange on opposite sides of its pivotal mounting, anda nut follower threaded onto the externally threaded surface of saidwebs and having faces adapted for operative engagement with saidflanges.

5. In brake resetting and time delay mechasaid carrier for swinging saidelements on their pivotal mountings.

1'... 6. In brake resetting and time delayrn echafnism' a collapsiblenut assembly comprising a carrier having a tubular hub adapted toreceive a brake actuating rod and a plurality of radial webs, the outeredges of which are threaded, complemental elements of a collapsible nut,each element being pivotally mounted on one of said webs, each of saidelements including a sector of a cylinder that is externally threadedand an abutment to engage a latch, flanges on each of said elements onopposite sides to its pivotal mounting, and a nut follower havingopposite faces adapted for operative engagement with said flanges.

7. In brake resetting and time delay mechanism of the characterdescribed, latchin mechanism for holding a brake actuating rod in setposition within a hollow tubular shaft comprising a latchbox on saidrod, an inwardly extending flange on said latchbox, a latch pivotallymounted in said tubular shaft and having a hooked end adapted to engagesaid inwardly extending flange, spring means for holding said hooked endin engagement with said flange and an abutment surface on said latch,and second movable abutment means adapted to retract said hooked endfrom said inwardly extending flange against the influence of saidspring.

8. In brake resetting and time delaying mechanism including a brakeactuating rod mounted within a tubular shaft, latching mechanism forsaid rod comprising a cylindrical latchbox slidable in said shaft andanchored to said rod, an inwardly extending ring-like flange on saidlatchbox, a plurality of latches pivotally mounted within said tubularshaft, each of said latches having a hooked end adapted for engagementwith said flange, a spring maintaining said engagement, an abutmentsurface on each latch and second movable abutment means adapted toengage said first abutment surfaces to disengage the hooked end of eachlatch from said flange.

9. In combination with a cable control unit including a brake actuatingrod operatively mounted within a tubular shaft, a collapsible nutassembly comprising a collapsible nut, a carrier therefor and a nutfollower, said assembly being movable as a unit within said shaft, stopmeans for limiting movement of said unit, latch means associated withsaid shaft and rod and adapted to be affected by said collapsible nut,and means for imparting rectilineal movement to said rod to carry out asetting operation.

10. In a cable control unit including a cable carrying drum, a tubularshaft on which said drum is mounted, a spring actuated brake applyingrod within said shaft and braking instrumentalities associated with saiddrum and adapted to be applied by said rod, time delay and brakeresetting mechanism comprising latch means on said shaft and rodrespectively, an in ternally threaded sleeve on said drum, and mechanismoperatively associated with said sleeve to be affected by rotationthereof to disengage said latch means.

11. In a cable control unit including a cable carrying drum, a tubularshaft on which said drum is mounted, a spring actuated brake applyingrod within said shaft and braking instrumentalities associated with saiddrum and adapted to be applied by said rod, time delay and brakeresetting mechanism comprising a slotted extension of said shaft, aninternally threaded sleeve carried by said drum and surrounding aslotted portion of said shaft extension, a collapsiblenut within saidextension and including por- 10 tions extending through the slotsthereof and meshing with the threads of said internally REFERENCES CITEDthreaded sleeve, means to engage and disengage The following referencesare of record in the said collapsible nut from the threads of said fileof this patent: v sleeve, said means being movable withsaid nut 5 as aunit within said shaft, a stop for limiting UNITED STAEES PATENTS suchmovement, latch means associated with said Number Name; Date shaft androd and adapted to be engaged by said 844,469 Prouty Feb. 19, 1907collapsible nut to break the latching relation, 964,752 Cartwright July19, 1910 and a reset crank carried by said shaft exten- I0 1,070,197Snell Aug. 12, 1913 sion and in threaded engagement with said rod.2,433,488 Schultz Dec. 30, 1947 CLARENCE R. GO'ITSCHALL. 2,482,705Cotton Sept. 20, 1949

